Farming data collection and exchange system

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide a passive relay device for farming vehicles and implements, as well as an online farming data exchange, which together enable capturing, processing and sharing farming operation data generated during combined use of the farming vehicle and farming implement at a farming business. The farming operation data includes detailed information about individual farming operations, including without limitation the type of farming operation, the location of the farming operation, the travel path for the farming operation, as well as operating parameters and operating events occurring while the farming operation is performed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/338,152, filed Oct. 28, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/434,621, filed Apr. 9, 2015, which is a U.S.national stage entry of PCT/US2014/056818, filed Sep. 22, 2014, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/881,320, filedSep. 23, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/881,326, filedSep. 23, 2013, all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to automated systems and methodsfor capturing, processing and sharing farming data, and moreparticularly to systems and methods for capturing farming operation datain real time using passive data collection devices attached to farmingequipment while the farming equipment is used to perform the farmingoperations, and then processing and sharing the farming operation datavia an online farming data exchange system or server.

BACKGROUND ART

Contemporary farming machines, such as tractors and planters, includecomputer systems and controllers capable of permitting farmers andfarming business to exercise extremely precise control over almost everyaspect of a farming operation, such as fertilizing, planting, sprayingor harvesting crops in a field. In a technique known as precisionfarming, the computer systems and related technology available todaypermits farming businesses to program the farming equipment to carry outfarming operations almost entirely under automated control of softwareprograms that can automatically activate and deactivate the machines,and even particular sections, row units, nozzles or blades on theimplement at precisely the right time and place in order to optimizeinputs such as seed, pesticide and fertilizer, and thereby achievegreater yields. During the course of performing farming operations, thecomputer systems and technology onboard the farming vehicles and farmingimplements typically transmit, receive and respond to electronicmessages containing an enormous amount of very detailed operational datathat describes almost every aspect of the farming operation. Forexample, if the farming vehicle and the farming implement used during afarming operation are a tractor and a sprayer, respectively, then thetractor and the sprayer will use the onboard computer systems andcomputer network to exchange and respond to a large number of messagesthat include critical operating parameters for the sprayer, such as,among other things, the sprayer's on/off status, working width, x-offset(i.e., driving direction), y-offset, target rate, application rate,master valve on/off status, total volume of spray applied, total areasprayed, total distance driven and total time used. It would beextremely useful to capture, store, analyze and share these operatingparameters. A farmer could use this information, for example, todetermine and compare what resources were used, where, and with whatsettings, and a seed company could study and use the information toimprove seed product yields.

However, the conventional precision farming techniques, computer systemsand related technology has heretofore failed to provide farmingbusinesses and other interested parties with an easy-to-use,unobtrusive, secure and reliable way to capture, store, share and profitfrom what is fast becoming a massive amount of very detailed, andenormously valuable, farming operation data generated by these automatedfarming techniques, machines and computer systems. Thus, criticallyimportant farming operation data, such as how much seed, fertilizer,water, and pesticide were used on a particular field, how often thefield was treated with a particular chemical, which parts of the fieldwere left untreated for some reason, what were the weather conditionsduring the farming operation, what kind of equipment was used to performthe farming operation, which settings were activated during the farmingoperation, and which field was treated during the farming operationoften goes uncollected and, therefore, remains unavailable for study andanalysis to the farmers and other interested parties in the agriculturalindustry.

Being able to precisely identify and describe the particular field wherea farming operation takes place, and determining which parts of thatfield were treated and which parts were left untreated for one reason oranother is an extremely important function for farming businesses,farming insurance companies, seed manufactures and government entities.The Farms Services Agency (FSA) of the USDA is currently in the processof developing and implementing a common land unit (CLU) data layer (ordatabase) to provide farm agency programs with a mapping of all of thefarm fields in the United States, or at least all of those farm fieldsinvolved, or likely to be involved, in FSA programs. The ESA defines acommon land unit (CLU) as a unit of agricultural land associated withUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm programs and thathas a permanent, contiguous boundary, a common land cover and landmanagement, a common owner and a common producer. CLU boundaries areusually delineated by relatively permanent features such as fence lines,roads, and/or waterways. The official CLU data layer is intended toprovide an accurate description of the locations, shapes and sizes ofthe fields where farming operations are taking place.

Unfortunately, there are a number of problems and disadvantagesassociated with CLUs as currently implemented by the FSA. Chief amongthese problems is the fact that CLUs are mainly created by the tediousprocess of manual inspections conducted on the land, or viewingsatellite-generated images of the land and drawing boundaries on mapsthat match landmarks and demarcations (such as fence lines, roads and/orwaterways) as observed by the humans viewing the satellite images. Bothof these methods for creating CLUs are labor-intensive and error-prone,and typically result in extremely inaccurate and unreliable CLUboundaries. Another problem associated with the CLU data layer is thatthe process of manually drawing boundaries around landmarks to createthe CLUs does not account for sections of farming land that, for onereason or another, are not currently being used for farming operations.In other words, CLUs merely describe field perimeters, and fail toaccount for, or even identify, potentially large sections of infertileor otherwise non-arable land that may be wholly encompassed by thoseperimeters, which are not being used for farming operations. These areasmay exist, for example, because they cover a part of a field that is toowet, or too rocky, or too steep to plant. The current process forcreating and defining CLUs also does not account very well for ownershipchanges on the land, or agreements between owners to merge tracts ofland for joint farming operations.

As a consequence of these and other problems associated with the currentsystem for creating and updating CLUs, the database of CLUs in the FSA'sofficial CLU data layer actually lacks the accuracy and precision ittruly needs to have in order for that database to become the reliableand enormously useful tool envisioned by the USDA. Moreover, CLUs areonly used in the United States. Therefore, systems and methods formonitoring and collecting farming operation data that rely on CLUs alonewill not be useful in most other agriculturally significant countries.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the current invention address the above-describedproblems by providing a relay device, a farming data exchange system andcomputer-implemented methods for tracking, collecting, storing andsharing farming operation data for farming businesses. Accordingly, oneembodiment of the present invention provides a relay device forcollecting, interpreting, storing and transmitting data associated withfarming operations that take place at a farming business. A farmingbusiness is any area of land or water (for aquaculture) that is devotedprimarily to producing and managing food (i.e. produce, grains, orlivestock), fibers, and increasingly fuel. A farming business may beowned and operated by a single individual, a family, a community, acorporation or a company, and can be a holding of any size. A farmingbusiness may comprise, without limitation, a dairy farm, an orchard, avineyard, a stable, a ranch, a garden, a fish farm, a feedlot, afarmstead or a plantation. A farming operation for a farming business isany farming job, task, chore, assignment or activity performed on orover land or water at the farming business, including withoutlimitation, activities such as clearing land, tilling soil, mowinggrass, irrigating or crop-dusting a field, feeding, herding ortransporting animals, or fertilizing, planting, spraying or harvesting acrop. Farming vehicles may include, without limitation, tractors,trucks, automobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), or any otherself-propelled vehicle or machine typically used to carry out farmingoperations. Farming implements may include, without limitation,cultivators, pickers, harrows, plows, rotators, rollers, mowers,seeders, feeders, planters, drills, spreaders, fertilizers, sprayers,sorters, harvesters, conveyors, carts, wagons, threshers, pickers,reapers, transporters, loaders, balers, milking machine, grinder,splitter or trailer, to name a few examples.

The relay device includes a microprocessor, a bus connector, a globalpositioning receiver, a memory storage area, a cellular radio and anapplication program. The bus connector connects the relay device to amessage bus on a farming vehicle or farming implement, the message busbeing configured to carry messages generated by the farming vehicle orthe farming implement while the farming vehicle and the farmingimplement are used to perform the farming operation. The globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver receives position and time signalsfrom space-based satellites while the farming operation is performed.

The memory storage area in the relay device stores (i) an electronicfarm record for the farming business, (ii) descriptive information aboutone or more farming operation land segments associated with the farmingbusiness, and (iii) a collection of implement profiles defining, for acollection of known farming implements, a known manufacturer code, aknown device class, a known version and a known communication protocol.The electronic farm record for the farming business includes generalinformation about the farming business, as well as detailed descriptionsfor each farming operation carried out at the farming business,including, for example, information indicating the date, time andlocation of each farming operation, the type of farming operation (e.g.,fertilizing, planting or spraying operations) and certain operatingevents that occurred during the performance of each farming operation.In preferred embodiments, the electronic farming record also includesprecision farming data for each farming operation carried out at thefarming business, including, for instance, the volume and type offertilizer, pesticide, feed or seed used during the farming operation,the weather conditions during the farming operation, as well as all ofthe operating states, modes and operating parameters used by the farmingimplement during the farming operation, as reflected in the messagestransmitted over the message bus by the farming implement and thefarming vehicle while the farming operation is performed.

The memory storage area on the relay device includes descriptiveinformation about one or more farming operation land segments, or“FOLS,” associated with the farming business. A FOLS is a contiguous ornon-contiguous parcel of land on the earth where a farming operationtakes place, and as such, may comprise a farm, field, lot or pasture, ora combination of two or more farms, fields, lots or pastures. Thus, thedescriptive information about one or more FOLS may be recorded in thememory in a variety of different ways, including without limitation, alatitude coordinate, a longitude coordinate, a perimeter or boundary fora farm, field or lot, a shape file for a farm, field or lot, a surfacearea measurement for a farm, field or lot, or a length for a perimeterfor a farm, field or lot, to name but a few examples. A FOLS may or maynot correspond with an official government-sponsored zone or otherdesignation for a farm, field or lot. A FOLS may also comprise anyidentifiable parcel of land associated with the farming business, takinginto account the local or national system for naming parcels of farmingland in the area of interest. For example, if the farming businessexists in a country or territory (such as the United States) whereparcels of land used for farming activities are uniquely identified by“common land unit” (CLU) numbers, then each FOLS in the collection ofFOLS described in the memory storage area of the relay device might bedefined to be coextensive with a CLU. Depending on the needs andobjectives of the particular embodiment of the farming data collectionand sharing exchange system of the present invention, however, a FOLscould also be defined by the system operator as encompassing two or moreCLUs, partially traversing one or more CLUs (not coextensive with them),entirely encompassed by a CLU, or something altogether different from aCLU, as may be desirable or necessary under the circumstances. Notably,a FOLS may include land that is not actually treated by a farmingimplement during a particular farming operation. Thus, a farmingoperation, such as planting corn, may only cover a portion of an entireFOLS (e.g., the northernmost end of a designated FOLS). In any event,descriptive information about a collection of designated FOLS associatedwith the farming business is stored in the memory of the relay device sothat the application program may subsequently use the stored FOLSdescriptions to determine and report, based on GPS signals and operatingevents, which FOLS hosted the farming operation, as will be described inmore detail below.

The application program comprises programming instructions that, whenexecuted by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor toautomatically extract content from one or more messages transmitted onthe message bus, and then use the extracted content to automaticallydetermine that there is a match between the farming implement used toperform the farming operation and the known farming implement in theimplement profile. Because of this match, the system now “knows” whichfarming implement is being used, and because of the known communicationprotocol for the known farming implement, the system now “knows” the“language” that the farming implement uses to communicate with thefarming vehicle over the message bus.

Armed with this information, the application program next uses theextracted content, the position and time signals from the GPS receiver,and the known communication protocol defined by the implement profilefor the known farming implement to determine a set of operating eventsthat occur during performance of the farming operation. Examples of anoperating events may include, for instance, events associated with thefarming implement, such as activating and deactivating the implement,activating and/or deactivating certain sections or row units on theimplement, receiving a signal or instruction from the farming vehicle, atransmission by the implement of a signal representing a low-feed,low-fuel or power-fail condition, an increase or decrease in volume orpressure readings, etc. In general, the application program isconfigured to derive operative events based on changes in operatingparameters for the farming implement or farming vehicle that occur whilethe farming operation is being performed. For example, if theapplication program of the relay device interprets a message (inaccordance with the communication protocol) to indicate that a “flowrate” operating parameter associated with a particular nozzle on asprayer implement has dropped to zero, then the application program maybe configured to record the change in the flow rate operating parameteras a “deactivation” operating event for the nozzle.

On an agricultural farm, many different types of farming operations willcover the same ground (i.e., the same FOLS) over the course of a cropyear. For example, a land clearing operation, a soil tilling operation,a fertilizing operation, a planting operation, a spraying operation anda harvesting operation may all take place on the same FOLS (which may ormay not be coextensive with a CLU or other government-supplieddesignation). Although every one of these operations may take place onthe same FOLS, it is unlikely that the boundaries and the surface areasfor the land covered in every one of these operations is exactly thesame. For example, the boundaries and surface areas for the landsubjected to the planting and harvesting operations may be somewhatsmaller than (or different from) the boundaries and surface areascovered by the land clearing, soil tilling and fertilizing operations.Thus, it may be important, for farming data collection and sharingpurposes, to keep track of, not only the FOLS where a farming operationtook place, but also the travel path for the farming operation thattakes place on the FOLS.

Accordingly, the application program of the present invention also usesthe extracted content, the position and time signals from the GPSreceiver and the known communication protocol defined by the implementprofile for the known farming implement to determine a “travel path” forthe farming operation. A travel path for a farming operation is aspecific area of land on the earth (or in a FOLS) where a farmingoperation (e.g., planting corn) is performed by the farming vehicle andfarming implement. Notably, unlike a FOLS, the travel path does notinclude any areas of land on the FOLS where the farming operation(planting corn) was not performed during the farming operation. Thus, ifa farmer uses a tractor to plant corn on all of the land in a field (orFOLS) except the land sitting underneath or surrounding a cellphonetower located at the southeast corner of the field (or FOLS), then thetravel path for that farming operation (planting corn) is the entiresurface area of the field (or FOLS) EXCEPT for the area of land sittingunderneath or surrounding the cellphone tower. In other words, a maprepresenting the travel path for the corn planting farming operationwould have a hole (or gap) in it corresponding to the portion of thefield sitting underneath or surrounding the cellphone tower.

Similarly, if a farmer plants around a shallow pond located in the field(or FOLS), or avoids a section of the field (or FOLS) because it is toowet (mud prevents the machine from operating effectively), too close toa busy highway, or otherwise unfarmable, then the travel path for thatfarming operation (planting corn), will not include the avoided sectionof the field (or FOLS) because no corn was planted in the avoidedsection of the field (of FOLS). Moreover, if the farmer drives over partof the field (or FOLS) with the planter implement turned off, or certainrow units of the planter implement turned off, then the sections of landthat the farmer drove over with the planter implement or the row unitsturned off would not be included in the travel path. For purposes ofthis disclosure, examples of row units may include, without limitation,a disc for turning the ground, a plow for rolling the ground, a harrowfor breaking up the ground, a tine for smoothing out the ground, aseed-dropping mechanism for dropping seed in the ground, a spray nozzlefor spraying pesticide or fertilizer, a spout for spreading a pesticideor fertilizer, a mechanism for cutting or harvesting a crop, or acombination of two of such devices.

Finally, the application program in the relay device uses the set ofoperating events, the travel path and the descriptive information aboutthe FOLS stored in the memory to identify the FOLS where the farmingoperation occurred. In some embodiments, the application will furtherdetermine the type of farming operation that occurred. Non-limitingexamples of farming operation types include planting, spraying,fertilizing, feeding and harvesting. The application program records thedetails of the farming operation, including the farming operation type,date and time, as well as the appropriate descriptive information forthe FOLS where the farming operation occurred, in the electronic farmrecord for the farming business.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a farming dataexchange system, comprising a microprocessor, a first data store forstoring a user account and an electronic farming record for the farmingbusiness, a second data store for storing descriptive information abouta farming operation land segment associated with the farming business,and a third data store for storing an implement profile defining, for aknown farming implement, a known manufacturer code, a known deviceclass, a known version and a known communication protocol. The farmingdata exchange system further comprises a network interface configured toreceive message data, position data and time data acquired by a remoterelay device connected to a farming vehicle or farming implement whilethe farming vehicle or farming implement are used to perform a farmingoperation at the farming business. An application program on the farmingdata exchange system comprises programming instructions that, whenexecuted by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor toautomatically extract content from the message data and use theextracted content to determine that there is a match between the farmingimplement used to perform the farming operation and the known farmingimplement of the implement profile. The application will then use theextracted content, the position data, the time data and the knowncommunication protocol defined by the implement profile for the knownfarming implement to determine a set of operating events and a travelpath for the farming operation. The application program will then usethe set of operating events, the travel path and the descriptiveinformation stored in the database to determine that the farmingoperation occurred on the farming operation land segment, and to recordthe farming operation and the descriptive information for the farmingoperation land segment in the electronic farm record.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a system andmethod for monitoring message data on an ISO 11783 message bus (ISOBUS)to detect, identify, extract and store operating parameters exchangedbetween a farming implement and a farming vehicle during performance ofa farming operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be understood by the following detailed descriptionin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a diagram illustrating, by way of example only, a farmingoperation land segment (FOLS) and a travel path for an ongoing farmingoperation in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram further illustrating, by way of example only, therelationships between travel paths, FOLS, CLUs and physical land at afarming business.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level block diagram of a relay device in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a high-level block diagram illustrating, by way of exampleonly, the primary physical and logical components of a relay device,like the relay device shown in FIG. 3, configured to operate inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a high-level block diagram for a farming data exchangesystem arranged to operate in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a virtual terminal (VT) display screen.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an implement (or ECU) profile in XML format.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram illustrating, by way of example, the relationshipbetween the VT display screen, a VT object message, the correspondingECU (implement) profile data, and the operating parameters that arestored in the database on the farming data exchange system.

FIG. 9 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the primary stepsof an exemplary algorithm for processing message data transmitted on amessage bus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the steps fordetecting and extracting operating parameters from messages inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram illustrating the ECU detection process inan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the stepsperformed to extract operating parameters from ISO 11783 Bus messagedata in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating the implement ECU profilecreation process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows three flow diagrams illustrating by way of example thefirst three phases of a process for managing and processing farmingoperation data on a farming data exchange server in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows two more flow diagrams illustrating, the final two phases,respectively, in a process for collecting and sharing farming operationdata in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a passive relay device forfarming vehicles and implements, as well as an online farming dataexchange, which together enable capturing, processing and sharingfarming operation data generated during combined use of the farmingvehicle and farming implement at a farming business. The farmingoperation data includes detailed information about individual farmingoperations, including without limitation the type of farming operation,the location of the farming operation, the travel path for the farmingoperation, as well as operating parameters and operating eventsoccurring while the farming operation is performed. The locations areexpressed in terms of “farming operation land segments” (or FOLS),instead of CLUs, because CLUs are not used in every agriculturallysignificant country. The travel paths identify areas on the FOLS wherethe farming vehicle and farming implement traveled during the farmingoperations with the farming implement activated and engaged, and doesnot include areas of land on the FOLS where the farming vehicle andfarming implement either (a) did not travel during the farmingoperation, or (b) did not travel while the farming implement wasactivated and engaged. The application programs in embodiments of thepresent invention first extract and parse the content of messagestransmitted on the message bus to determine which one of potentiallymany different implement profiles stored in the memory matches theimplement profile generating and transmitting the messages. Among otherthings, each implement profile identifies a communication protocol for aknown implement. Thus, when an application program determines that theimplement in use matches an implement profile stored in the memory, theapplication program then “knows” the communication protocol that thecurrent implement uses to communicate with the farming vehicle. Theknown communication profile provides a key that permits the applicationprogram to parse subsequent messages transmitted over the message bus inorder to identify the operating parameters for the current farmingoperation. These operating parameters, along with global positioningsystem data received from the GPS receiver on the relay device while theforming operation is being performed, permit the application program todetermine the nature and timing of operating events occurring during thefarming operation (such as turning the seeding or spraying functionalityon and off). The application program then uses the operating events andthe global positioning system data to identify a travel path and a FOLSfor the farming operation. After the application program determines thetravel path and the FOLS for the farming operation, the electronicfarming record for the farming business is updated to include anindication that a new farming operation has taken place, and to includedescriptive information about the type of operation, the operatingevents, the travel path and the FOLS associated with the farmingoperation.

Notably, the farming operation data acquired by the relay attached tothe farming vehicle and farming implement may be transmitted to a remotefarming data exchange system in real time while farming vehicle andfarming implement are still performing the farming operation.Alternatively, the farming operation data may be collected by the relay,stored in the relay's memory or some other memory storage device forsome period of time, and uploaded to the farming data exchange system ata later time. The farming data exchange system comprises physicalhardware elements and logic that together operate to permit the farmingdata uploaded to the exchange system to be securely stored, processed,analyzed, shared and reported to authorized account holders, such asfarmers, seed and fertilizer manufacturers, agronomists, variousgovernment agencies and farming insurance providers.

Because the methods and systems of the present invention create thetravel paths from global positioning data, operating parameters andoperating events generated by the farming vehicle or farming implementwhile the farming vehicle and implement are activated and engaged, thetravel paths created by the current invention identify specific areas ofland on the earth where the blades and seeds and fertilizer are actuallyhitting the dirt, and does not rely on any assumptions about where thoseblades, seeds and fertilizer “might be” or “could be” hitting the dirtbased solely on the location of a CLU that was manually created by humanobservation and annotation of satellite imagery. And because the travelpaths describe the sections of farmland where blades, seeds andfertilizer are actually being used, those same travel paths also show,by definition, sections of farmland (represented by “gaps” or “holes” orother boundaries in the travel path) that are not treated during aparticular farming operation. Accordingly, the travel path informationproduced and recorded by embodiments of the present invention are farmore precise, far more informative, and far more reliable than CLUs.

In addition to creating, processing and providing authorized access torecords comprising operating parameters, travel paths and FOLS,embodiments of the present invention also provide a farming dataprocessing system that automatically receives farming data messages froma relay device attached to a farming machine, via a WI-FI or cellularnetwork interface as the farming equipment is being used to perform afarming operation at a farming business, the messages including globalpositioning data and operational parameters. The farming data processingsystem creates a record in an electronic farming data database for thefarming business, and automatically distributes the records in responseto authorized requests from authorized subscribers.

The farming vehicles and farming implements may include, withoutlimitation, tractors, planters, balers, drills, harvesters, cultivators,sprayers, pickers, spreaders, mowers, harrows, wind rowers, plows andany other type of agricultural field equipment.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram illustrating, by way of example only, a farmingoperation land segment (FOLS) 105 and a travel path 110 for an ongoingfarming operation in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 1, at time t0, a farming vehicle 120, suchas a tractor, begins towing a farming implement 125, such as a sprayer,toward a FOLS 105 while the farming implement 125 is deactivated and/orall of the spraying nozzles on farming implement 125 are switched off.Depending on the country or territory, the boundaries of FOLS 105 may ormay not correspond to (be coextensive with) a common land unit (or CLU).At time t1, the farming vehicle 120 and farming implement 125 cross overthe west boundary 102 of FOLS 105 and continues moving across FOLS 105in an easterly direction (from the left side of the page to right sideof the page in FIG. 1) while the farming implement 125 remainsdeactivated and/or all of the spray nozzles are switched off. Becauseall of the spray nozzles on farming implement 125 are switched off fromtime t1 to time t2, the area of land 130 in FOLS 105 remains untreatedduring the farming operation. Therefore, the area of land 130 on FOLS105 is not considered to be a part of the travel path 110 for thefarming operation, even though the farming vehicle 120 and the farmingimplement 125 travels across the area of land 130 during the farmingoperation.

At time t2 in FIG. 1, the farming vehicle operator (not shown) operatescontrols in the cab of the farming vehicle 120 so as to send electronicsignals to the farming implement 125 that cause the farming implement125 to be activated and all of the spray nozzles on the farmingimplement 125 to be switched on. Alternatively, the farming implement125 and spray nozzles may be automatically activated in accordance withprogramming instructions in a precision farming program running on acomputer system installed in the farming vehicle 120. Shortlythereafter, beginning at time t3 and ending at time t6, the spraynozzles on the farming implement 125 begin to automatically switch offin consecutive fashion in accordance with operator commands or precisionfarming program instructions, in order to avoid spraying in a specificarea of land 140 on FOLS 105. At time t6, all of the spray nozzles onfarming implement 125 have been switched off, thereby ending the travelpath 110 in the farming operation. The overall effect of turning thespray nozzles off in consecutive fashion while the implement movesacross the FOLS 105 is the creation of a travel path 110 having a“stair-stepped” boundary corresponding to the places where additionalnozzles were deactivated. It is noted that, if the nozzles arereactivated during the same farming operation, such as at time t7,additional pieces of land on the FOLS 105 will be considered to beincluded in the travel path 110, even though these additional pieces ofland are not contiguous with the piece of land shown as travel path 110in FIG. 1.

As illustrated by FIG. 1, it will occasionally be necessary or desirableto temporarily switch off certain nozzles on farming implement 125 asthe farming implement 125 is towed across the FOLS 105 in order to avoidspraying a patch of unfarmable land 135. When this occurs, the travelpath 110 identified and recorded by embodiments of the present inventionwill reflect the fact that travel path 110 encompasses a hole or gap 135corresponding to the pieces of land in FOLS 105 where certain nozzles(or all nozzles) on the farming implement 125 were switched off.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram further illustrating, by way of example only, therelationships between travel paths, FOLS, CLUs and physical land at afarming business. As shown in FIG. 2, two farming businesses (theHatfield Farm 203 and the McCoy Farm 205) are located on physical landsituated in a low-lying area between two sets of foothills. Inaccordance with the FSA CLU project, the Hatfield Farm 203 has beendesignated in the CLU layer as CLU #8095, while the McCoy Farm 205 isidentified in the CLU layer as CLU #8096. In this example, an embodimentof the present invention uses FOLS numbers in addition to (or insteadof) CLUs. As it happens, however, FOLS #102 and FOLS #108 (designated byreference numbers 220 and 225 in FIG. 2) are coextensive with CLU #8095and CLU #8096, respectively. See 210 and 215 in in FIG. 2. Beforeplanting any crops, both farming businesses must remove all of the treeson the low-lying areas of land situated between the foothills. Since theMcCoys do not own tree-removal equipment, the McCoys pay the Hatfieldsto remove all of the trees from the McCoy Farm 205, except for the treeslocated on the foothills, at the same time that the Hatfields areremoving all of the trees from the Hatfield Farm 203 (except for thetrees on the foothills). Thus, at time t1, a massive tree-removaloperation occurs on all of the land represented by travel path 230,which covers part of the land in FOLS #102, part of the land in FOLS#108, part of the Hatfield Farm 203, part of the McCoy Farm 205, and allof the land between the foothills. Therefore, a relay device attached tothe Hatfield tree-removal equipment, or a farming data exchange system(not shown in FIG. 2), operating in accordance the embodiments of thepresent invention, would create or amend an electronic farming record(EFR) for the Hatfield's farming business to include entries containinga description and a set of operating events associated with the treeremoval farming operation, a description of the FOLS (i.e., FOLS #102and FOLS #108) affected by the tree-removal farming operation, as wellas a description of the travel path 230 for the farming operation. Therecorded description of the travel path in the EFR may comprise, forexample, a multi-dimensional array containing geospatial coordinatescorresponding to the boundaries of the tree-removal operation.

As shown in FIG. 2, over a period of time (t2-t5), a plurality ofadditional farming operations (including fertilizing, planting, sprayingand harvesting operations) may be performed on the same physical land,each farming operation having a unique travel path 235, 240, 245, 250,255, 260 and 265, respectively, and these travel paths do notnecessarily correspond with the boundaries of any particular farmingbusiness property, FOLS or CUL. In the example illustrated by thediagram in FIG. 2, for instance, if the McCoys rent a portion of theHatfield property in order to grow more beans than their own land canaccommodate, then the electronic farming records associated with theMcCoy Farm farming business will include travel paths 245, 255 and 265for the McCoy's planting, spraying and harvesting operations, whichcross over the boundaries between the farming businesses, CLUs and FOLSassociated with those farming businesses.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level block diagram of a relay device 300 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In generalterms, the purpose of the relay device 300 is to relay information, suchas farming operation data generated by farming vehicles, such astractors, and farming implements, such as planters, to a farming dataexchange system 500 such as the system depicted in FIG. 5 and describedin more detail below. The farming operation data may be uploaded fromthe relay device 300 to the farming data exchange system 500 in realtime using a cellular connection, or alternatively, the farmingoperation data may be stored in a memory area 305 on the relay device300, downloaded to a memory stick or other portable device (not shown inFIG. 3), which is in turn uploaded to a standard personal computer (notshown) and then uploaded to the farming data exchange system 500 fromthe personal computer via an Internet or other wide area networkconnection.

In some embodiments, the relay device 300 may also be configured to usea Wi-Fi transmitter 325 for network communications and also act as aWi-Fi hotspot. Typically, the relay device 300 will have a cellularradio transceiver 320 built into it, which is configured to establish adata communications link 393 with one or more nearby mobile devices 390(e.g., smartphone or tablet computer) that can access and browse theInternet and/or World Wide Web.

Farming vehicles and farming implements typically include a number ofdifferent sensors that are all connected to a message bus 373, sometimesreferred to as a “controller area network” or “CAN.” The message bus 373usually provides power to the sensors. The relay device 300 is connectedto the message bus 373 on the farming vehicle 375 or the farmingimplement 380. As such, the relay device 300 can also act as adiagnostic tool for the message bus 373. Notably, farming vehicles 375and farming implements 380 sometimes each have their own message bus. Sothe relay device 300 is optionally configured to receive data from twodifferent message buses simultaneously. The relay device 300 has one ormore application programs that can detect messages that are beingtransmitted or broadcasted over message bus 373, transmit those rawmessages to the farming data exchange system 500 for interpretation,and/or interpret and transmit the raw messages being transmitted orbroadcasted over the message bus 373.

In preferred embodiments, the relay device 300 includes controllers forpower management 350, a surge protector 351 and a voltage regulator 352.The voltage regulator 352 ensures a consistent flow of energy throughthe relay device 300. The relay device 300 may also include a crystal340 that keeps all of the message bus traffic in sync. Preferably, thecrystal 340 is finely tuned so that it produces ticks as fast asone-tenth or one-hundredth of a second, which means the relay device 300can provide data time stamp events at these higher resolutions.

A UPS receiver 335 may be soldered onto the main integrated circuithoard 310. Alternatively, it may be connected to a daughter card (notshown) that's plugged into a header on the integrated circuit board 310.Ideally, the UPS receiver 335 is a high-precision UPS receiver capableof taking readings as frequently as 10 times per second or higher.Typically, the application programs running on the relay device 300 willinclude routines and algorithms configured to parse and interpret UPSdata sent to the relay device 300 in the form of “NMEA sentences” inaccordance with National Marine Electronics Association specificationfor UPS data. Preferably, the relay device 300 also has a built-inBlueTooth transceiver 330 that allows the relay device 300 to transmitdata to mobile device 390, and to receive data transmitted from themobile device 390.

Preferably, the relay device 300 includes connectors that permit therelay device 300 to connect to a variety of different external datasources using a variety of different communication protocols. As shownin FIG. 3, for example, the relay device 300 may comprise a serial dataport 355, a universal serial bus (USB) data port 360 and a Deutsch 9-pinconnector 365 consistent with the ISO-11783 input/output connectionstandard for controller area networks on farming vehicles and farmingimplements. The relay device 300 may also include an SAE J1939 or an SAEJ1708/J1587 data port (not shown), as well as an SMA and Micro SMAconnector 370 designed specifically for connectivity with a OPS antenna385 tuned to the frequencies of global positioning satellites in spaceorbit.

The on-board digital memory 305 of the relay device 300 includes anoperating system and a number of software libraries and custom softwarecontrollers, including a library for programmatic communication ofcommands, signals and operating parameters used by a task controller onthe farming vehicle or farming implement. A universal terminal emulatorand interpreter broadcasts a universal terminal interface as a webpageto the mobile device 390 via an application installed on the mobiledevice 390. The relay device 300 also includes standard communicationprotocols for the various types of transceivers and busses connected tothe relay device 300.

The relay device 300 includes a microprocessor 315 and one or moreapplication programs, running on the relay device 300, which includeprogramming instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor 315,will cause the microprocessor 315 to monitor the message datatransmitted or broadcasted on the message bus 373. The applicationprograms may also be configured to power up the relay device 300 or putthe device into sleep mode when there is no data being transmitted orbroadcasted over the message bus 373. Other application programs (or thesame application program) keep track of time, which may be received fromthe OPS receiver, and generate job IDs, which may be associated with thefarming operations as they are being performed.

When a farmer first sets up the relay device 300, the relay device 300will be associated with the farmer's farming business account on thefarming data exchange 500. An authentication process provided on themobile device 390 allows the farmer to establish and use a datacommunications link 393 to initiate and complete data transfers ofoperating parameters and global positioning data from the relay 300 tothe farming data exchange system 500 in the cloud.

Ideally, the relay device 300 is serialized so that the farming dataexchange system 500 can uniquely identify every relay device attemptingto connect and upload farming data. Preferably, the relay device 300also includes automatic firmware updating software, so that every timethe relay device powers up, it will check for an active Internetconnection and, if necessary, download and install the latest versionsof all of the software necessary for operation of the relay device 300.

A data buffering controller is provided in case no network connection isavailable while the farming vehicle and farming implement are performinga farming operation, in which case the data that is being transmitted onthe message bus 373 will be stored in the on-board digital memory 305.Periodically, the data buffering controller will re-check the status ofthe network connection, and, as soon as it is available, initiate anupload of all of the buffered data to the farming data exchange system500. Preferably, the data buffering controller is also configured toprioritize the data transmissions so that critical data might beuploaded to the farming data exchange system 500 in real-time, whilenon-critical data might be uploaded at an off-peak time.

FIG. 4 shows a high-level block diagram illustrating, by way of exampleonly, the primary physical and logical components of a relay device 400,like the relay device 300 shown in FIG. 3, configured to operate inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 4, the relay device 400 includes a microprocessor 420, a busconnector 415, a global positioning receiver 410, a memory storage area430 and an application program 405. It will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the functions of the application program 405, asdescribed herein, may be implemented via plurality of separate programsor program modules configured to communicate and cooperate with oneanother to achieve the desired functional results. The bus connector 415connects the relay device 400 to a message bus 475 on a farming vehicleor farming implement (not shown in FIG. 4), the message bus 475 beingconfigured to carry messages 480A-480N generated by the farming vehicleor the farming implement while the farming vehicle and the farmingimplement are used to perform the farming operation. The globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver 410 is connected to an antenna 465tuned to receive position and time signals 470 generated by space-basedsatellites (not shown) while the farming operations are being performed.

The memory storage area 430 on the relay device 400 is configured tostore a collection 435 of implement profiles defining, for a collectionof known farming implements 440, a known manufacturer code, a knowndevice class, a known version and a known communication protocol. Thememory storage area 430 also contains a collection 445 of descriptiverecords about one or more farming operation land segments (FOLS) 450that may or may not be directly or indirectly associated with thefarming business. In some embodiments, for example, the collection 445of FOLS descriptions 450 will include descriptions of all known FOLS ina particular zone, county, territory, state, country or regionassociated with the farming business. In other embodiments, thecollection of FOLS descriptions 445 stored in the memory storage area430 on the relay device 400 may include only those FOLS that are knownto be encompassed by or connected to the particular farming business.The information in the FOLS descriptions 450 may comprise, for example,a latitude and longitude coordinates, elevation above sea-level, adescription of the perimeter of the FOLS, a shape file for the FOLS,surface area measurements, global positioning coordinates, ownershipstatus information property encompassed by the FOLS, zone and tractnumbers for the FOLS, a farm number for the FOLS, a field number for theFOLS, one or more zoning classifications for the FOLS, theadministrative county for the FOLS, a state administrative office forthe FOLS, one or more designated common land units for the FOLS, or anycombination of two or more thereof.

The memory storage area 430 in the relay device also stores one or moreelectronic farm records associated with the farming business operatingthe farming vehicle or farming implement upon which the message bus 475is located. The electronic farm record 455 for the farming businessincludes general information about the farming business, as well asdetailed descriptions for each farming operation carried out at thefarming business, including, for example, information indicating thedate, time and location of each farming operation, the type of farmingoperation (e.g., fertilizing, planting or pesticide spraying operations)and certain operating events that occurred during the performance ofeach farming operation. In preferred embodiments, the electronic farmingrecord also includes precision farming data for each farming operationcarried out at the farming business, including, for instance, the volumeand type of fertilizer, pesticide, feed or seed used during the farmingoperation, the weather conditions during the farming operation, as wellas all of the operating states, modes and operating parameters used bythe farming implement during the farming operation, as reflected in themessages transmitted over the message bus by the farming implement andthe farming vehicle while the farming operation is performed.

The application program 405 comprises programming instructions that,when executed by the microprocessor 420, will cause the microprocessor420 to monitor the messages 480A-480N transmitted over the message bus475, and automatically extract certain content from the messages480A-480N in order to determine whether there is a match between thefarming implement currently being used to perform the farming operationand one of the known farming implements 440 in the collection ofimplement profiles 435. As will be described in more detail below, if amatch is found, for example, when the application program determinesthat an address claim message in the messages 480A-480N transmitted overthe message bus 475 contains a manufacturer code and a device class thatmatch the known manufacturer code entry and the known device classentry, respectively, in one of the implement profiles in the collectionof implement profiles 435, and the object pool version in an object poolversion message transmitted over the message bus 475 matches the knownversion entry in the same implement profile. After a match is found, theapplication program uses the known communication protocol for thematching farming implement profile to interpret subsequent messagestransmitted or broadcasted over the message bus 475. In particular, theapplication program uses the known communication protocol to extract thecontents of subsequently transmitted messages, and then uses theextracted content and the position and time signals received by the UPSreceiver to determine a set of operating parameters and operating eventsthat occur during performance of the farming operation. As previouslystated, examples of an operating events may include events such asactivating and deactivating the implement, activating and/ordeactivating certain nozzles or row units on the implement, receiving asignal or instruction from the farming vehicle, a transmission by theimplement of a signal representing a low-feed, low-fuel or power-failcondition, an increase or decrease in volume or pressure readings, etc.The application program also compares the position information (such aslongitude and latitude coordinates) received by the GPS receiver 410during the performance of the farming operation to location information(such as longitude and latitude coordinates) stored in the collection ofFOLS descriptions 445 to determine which FOLS described in thecollection of FOLS descriptions is the FOLS where the farming operationis carried out. The position and time information received by the GPSreceiver 410, in conjunction with the operating events, also enables theapplication program 405 to determine the exact travel path for thefarming operation. All of this information, including the type, locationand travel path for the farming operation, is written to the electronicfarming record 455 for the farming business. The relay device 400 willthen transmit the electronic farming record information to the farmingdata exchange system 500 via the network interface 425. In preferredembodiments, the relay device 400 may also have one or more additionalapplication programs configured to format at least a portion of theupdated electronic farming record to a mobile device (not shown in FIG.4) capable of formatting and displaying maps and travel paths for thefarming operations.

FIG. 5 shows a high-level block diagram for a farming data exchangesystem 500 arranged to operate in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the farming data exchange system500 includes a microprocessor 505, a first data store 512 for storing abusiness entity database comprising user account and an electronicfarming record for a farming business, a second data store 522 forstoring descriptive information about a farming operation land segmentassociated with the farming business, and a third data store 532 forstoring an implement profile defining the known manufacturer codes,known device classes, known versions and known communication protocolsfor a collection of known farming implements. The farming data exchangesystem also includes a network interface 515 configured to receivemessage data, position data and time data acquired by a remote relaydevice 560 connected to a farming vehicle or farming implement (notshown in FIG. 5) while the farming vehicle and farming implement areused to perform a farming operation at the farming business.

The application programs 542 contain computer-readable programinstructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, will cause themicroprocessor to carry out a number of steps associated with receivingand processing message data generated by a farming vehicle and farmingimplement during performance of a farming operation, including withoutlimitation identifying a communications protocol for the farmingimplement used to perform the farming operation, extracting operatingparameters and global positioning data from the message data, parsingthe operating parameters and global positioning data to determine a setof operating events for the farming operation, and then using theoperating events and the global positioning data to determine a travelpath and a FOLS for the farming operation.

In particular, the application programs 542 running on the farming dataexchange system 500 includes software programs that automaticallyextract implement information, such as the manufacturer code and deviceclass, from an address claim message in the message data received fromthe relay device 560 and determine if they match a known manufacturercode and a known device defined by one of the implement profiles in theimplement profiles collection data store 532. If there is a match, thenthe application program 542 will next extract an object pool versionfrom an object pool message in the messages received from the relaydevice 560 via the network interface 515 and determine whether itmatches the known object pool version in the implement profile. If theobject pool version matches the known object pool version, then theapplication program will use the known communication protocol defined bythe selected matching implement profile to parse and interpret thecontent of subsequently transmitted messages. The extracted content, theposition data, the time data and the known communication protocoldefined by the implement profile for the known farming implement arethen used by the application program 542 to determine a set of operatingevents and a travel path for the farming operation that generated themessages captured by the relay device 560. The application program willalso use the set of operating events, the travel path and the FOLSdescriptive information 522 to identify the farming operation landsegment (FOLS) where the farming operation must have occurred. Finally,the application program 542 will record the farming operation, theoperating events and descriptions for the travel path and the FOLS inthe electronic farm record for the farming business in business entitydatabase 512.

As shown in FIG. 5, the farming data exchange system also includes otherapplication programs and controllers, including an external data sourceoutput controller 535, a passive job generator 5:20, a report generator530, a farm traffic controller 517, a parameter extraction program 519and an external data source input controller 540. The external datasource input controller 540 is communicatively connected to variety ofdifferent database sources 590, 592, 594, 596 and 598 useful forprocessing the messages and position information received from the relaydevice 560. An authorized external input device 585 and an authorizedexternal output device 545 are also communicatively coupled to thefarming data exchange system 500 to facilitate adding or removingadditional agricultural data to the system. An authorized internal inputand output device 550 and report generator 555 permits communicationswith and displaying of maps and travel paths on mobile devices, such astablet computers and handheld smartphones.

The parameter extraction program 519 receives and parses messagestransmitted from the relay device 560 to the farm data exchange system500 in order to detect and identify the implement electronic controlunit (ECU) that generated those messages. The data in the NAME field ofone of the messages is extracted and compared with the data in acollection of implement profiles 532 stored on the system. Theseimplement profiles in the collection of implement profiles 532 provide amapping between ECU parameters and ISO 11783 Virtual Terminal objectnumbers. Thus, once the parameter extraction program 519 determines thatthere is a match between the data in the NAME field transmitted by thecurrent implement and the data stored in one of the stored implementprofiles, all of the object numbers that will be used by the currentimplement to communicate information to the current farming machine areknown to the system by virtue of this mapping. Accordingly, theparameter extraction program 519 can then use the implement profile(specifically, the mapping of object numbers to operating parameters) toextract operating parameter values from every subsequent messagetransmitted by the current implement. The operating parameterinformation, along with the position and time data provided by the GPSreceiver, can then be used by the other application programs todetermine the set of operating events that occurred during the farmingoperation.

Typically, an agriculture data repository 510 is included to store rawdata as it is received by the farming data exchange system 500. Raw datamay be received from a number of external sources, such as authorizedexternal databases 590, 592, 594, 596 and 598. The data could also bereceived from farming equipment via the network interface 515 and farmtraffic controller 517, both configured to permit the system to receivesuch information directly from a farming business. The external datasource input controller 540 is a management point for all of theexternal data sources 590, 592, 594, 596 and 598 authorized to eitherpush data directly into the database, or pull data out of the database.Typically, data gets routed by the external data source input controller540 into the appropriate data structures inside the agriculture datarepository 510.

Typically, the external data source input controller 540 is implementedas an application programming interface (API) designed specifically fortransferring data from the external data sources 590, 592, 594, 596 and598 to the agriculture data repository 510. Several examples of externaldata sources are shown in FIG. 5. For example, there are water, soil,chemical and weather databases 596 that provide historical water, soil,chemical and weather data. The weather information in this databasecould be provided, for example, by establishing interfaces withestablished weather data providers, such as NOAA. The soil databaseprovides access to soil sampling data, including chemistry records forvarious types of soil. This information may be collected and managed bystates, counties or farmers. Every state requires registration anddocumentation for public wells. Therefore, preferred embodiments of thefarming data exchange system 500 of the present invention will alsoinclude one or more interfaces to one or more state- or county-operatedwater well registration databases, which will provide the chemicalcomposition of local water sources.

The water, soil, chemical and weather databases 596 also provides veryspecific information about the types of chemicals, their names, theirchemical compositions, their manufacturers, their application rates andtheir data safety sheets. With this information, the farming dataexchange system will have deep and rich information about the specificchemicals that are being applied to a field during a farming operation,thereby enriching the information associated with the FOLS. The systemmay also be configured to provide an external connection to a network ofdata processing systems operated and managed by agencies related to theUSDA or the EPA.

An actual production history database 598 provides historical productiondata for farming land registered with government agencies related to theUSDA. An interface to a commodity and market database 590, such as thoseoperated by the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), provides commodityexchange and local market pricing information. An interface to the FSA'sCLU data layer (database) 592 provides access to official polygonalshape files for farming land. The system may also be configured toestablish an electronic communication with and pull data from the dataprocessing systems of one or more soil laboratories that are performingthe soil sampling. Preferably, an interface with a seed variety numberdatabase 594 is also provided. There are a number of different chemicalcompanies that are also in the hybrid seed business and geneticsbusiness. Every bag of seed is required to have a seed variety number onit. The system of the present invention will use this interface to trackseed variety numbers for the seed varieties being used for the farmingoperations on the FOLS.

The system may also be configured to receive input from authorizedexternal input devices 550. For example, an agronomy program developedby a third party may be permitted to export prescription maps into theagriculture data repository. Authorized external input devices 550 mayalso include smartphones, laptops, tablets and external online servers,all configured to permit specific customers to access and provide inputinto the agriculture data repository 510 via authorized business andpersonal accounts on the farming data exchange system 500.

The passive job generator 520 monitors positioning data, machine data,implement data, business data, personal data, relay device data andtokens received on the farming data exchange system 500 and stored inthe agriculture data repository 510, detects a common identifier in allthese types of data, such as a farming operation identifier and afarming business identifier, and uses the farming operation identifierand farming business identifier to create new electronic farming recordsfor the farming business.

For example, the passive job generator 520 may be configured to identifyall of data in the agriculture data repository 510 tagged with a samefarming operation ID. The farming operation ID gets generated by therelay device 560, which was described in more detail above withreference to FIG. 1. Then that data is stored, and the passive jobgenerator 520 looks for that common thread, and stiches all of thepieces of data together to create an electronic record for the newfarming operation. The farming operation record might include operatingevents spanning multiple days, because it might take multiple days toplant a field with corn. But to the farmer, viewing the information forthe entire farming operation, even when the farming operation spansmultiple days, is the most meaningful way to look at the data. Thesystem still keeps all of the data separate in terms of the individualFOLS, but when a farmer or data customer looks at the data, they areusually interested in seeing the overall job (i.e., farming operation)of planting corn on/over a number of FOLS. The passive job generator 520stiches all of the data together to deliver more meaningful informationto the electronic farm record for the farming business.

If a farmer uses the same piece of equipment and returns to the samefield and covers the same ground again (perhaps to replant seeds in alow-lying area where a flood washed away previously-planted seeds, forinstance), the passive job generator 20 may amend an earlier-createdelectronic farm record in the business entity database 512 to includethe additional data created by his second visit to the field in order togenerate a more complete record and/or increase the size of a travelpath associated with the farming operation. If the farming implement isthe same, and the seed variety is the same, and the driver is the same,the farming data exchange system 500 may be preprogrammed, in someembodiments, to assume the second visit to the field comprises acontinuation or completion of a previously started farming operation. Inother embodiments, the system may be preprogrammed to classify thesecond visit as a new farming operation.

The business entity database 512 stores all of the account informationand farming data related to a specific farming business, including theelectronic farm record or records for the farming business. There may bemultiple field records or job records or task records collected in thebusiness entity database 512. In order for this information to beaccessed and reported in meaningful ways, the business entity database512 can be queried from a number of different sources. The businessentity database 512 is basically a data store for all of the data thatis relevant to a specific farming business. And a significant aspect ofthe value of the farm data exchange system 500 is its ability to create,share and distribute reports to authorized users and subscribers. Thereport generator 530 is an example of one application program that canquery the business entity database 512 and collect information that canbe pushed down to an authorized internal input/output device 550 in theform of a custom report. The farm traffic controller 517 is anotherexample of a computer program that can query the business entitydatabase 512 for data that can be formatted into customized reports andpushed out to authorized users and subscribers.

The authorized external output device 545 is any external device thathas been given authorization to view data stored in the databases of thefarming data exchange system 500. Typically, this device will only viewthe farming data, not change it. An external data source outputcontroller 535 ensures that the authorized external output device 545 isactually authorized to receive reports on the requested farming data. AnAPI is used to pass a query containing variables through the reportgenerator 530. The report generator 530 then grabs those variables,converts them into a visual format that is meaningful, and then passesthat information hack out to the external data source output controller535. The external data source output controller 535 checks to make surethat the authorized external output device 535 is still connected (i.e.,that the session is still active), that the device is still authorizedto receive report, and then passes that report to the authorizedexternal output device 545.

The authorized internal input/output device 550, such as a mobile phone,a mobile tablet, laptop, or other device with a cellular connection, maybe used to transmit and receive farming data to and from the farmingdata exchange system 500. All of these devices may be configured to runsoftware optimized to provide visually pleasing and impactful reportsfor the platform.

If a user is utilizing a tablet computer, such as an iPad or an Androidtablet, or a Windows mobile tablet computer, for example, there are anumber of tools available that render high-resolution color images andreports specifically for those platforms. But the user may also requestand download reports that are rendered instead on the farming dataexchange system 500. In this case, the report generator 530 sends arequest for that data to the farm traffic controller 517, whichvalidates the user's credentials and the device, and then queries thebusiness entity database 512, or retrieves the electronic farm recordfor a specific farming business from the business entity database 512,and funnels that data back to the report generator 530, which thenconverts the data into an aesthetically pleasing display format for thetablet computer.

The relay device 560 may communicate with the farming data exchangesystem 500 through the authorized internal input/output device 550 (suchas an iPad), or it can communicate via a cellular communications channelusing a cellular radio transmitter/receiver inside the relay device 560.Preferably, the relay device 560 is configured to try communicating withthe farm traffic controller 517 via whichever communications channel ismost readily available. Thus, if the cellular connection is down, thenthe relay device is configured to push and pull data through theauthorized internal input/output device 550, which then passes itthrough the farm traffic controller 517 to the agriculture datarepository 510.

The relay device is 560 is connected to the controller area network (notshown in FIG. 5) on the farming vehicle or farming implement so as topermit the relay device 560 to receive engine or machine data, implementdata, and variable rate data while the vehicle and machine are beingused to perform a farming operation. The relay device 560 is alsoconnected to a global positioning antenna (not shown) on the farmingvehicle or farming implement so that the relay device 560 can receiveglobal positioning data while the farming farming vehicle and farmingimplement are being used to perform the farming operation. Implementdata may include data such as the implement width and the number ofrows, the row width, row depth, the down-pressure, singulation, spacingand population (if the implement is a planter). If the farming implementis a sprayer, for instance, then the implement data will include nozzleinformation, such as the number of nozzles on the implement, the flowrate for each nozzle, and whether the nozzles have solenoids to turn andoff. All of the information for the implement is going to be received bythe relay device 560 via the relay device's connection to the controllerarea network, or CAN.

Preferably, the relay device 560 has a built-in global positioningreceiver that permits it to receive and process satellite signalsdetected via an external antenna. The relay augments the farming vehicleand farming implement data it receives from the CAN with globalpositioning data received with the satellite signals. This externalantenna may be configured to receive satellite signals from a variety ofdifferent satellite arrays, including without limitation GLONASS,COMPASS, EGNOS and GPS. The relay device 560 parses the NMEA sentencesinto meaningful position data, including for example latitude,longitude, attitude, altitude and time data. The global position data,machine data and implement data are all used to paint the path and theground that the machine and implement are covering.

In some embodiments, the relay device 560 includes a software programcontaining programming instructions that, when executed by amicroprocessor 505 inside the relay device 560, will cause themicroprocessor 505 to identify a travel path for the farming operation.Thus, as a farmer is out performing a farming operation in one of hisfields using a particular vehicle and implement, the software programuses the operating parameters received from the CAN and the globalposition data received from the antenna, to paint a picture representingthe surface area of the land covered by the vehicle and the implementduring that farming operation while the farming implement was in anactive state. The relay device 560 transmits all of the position data,machine implement data, the travel path data and the FOLS description tothe farm traffic controller 517, which knows where to funnel it into theagriculture data repository 510. Alternatively, the relay device 560could be configured to transmit the raw operating parameter and globalpositioning data to the farming data exchange system 500 so that thefarming data exchange system 500 can use the data to identify the travelpaths and the FOLS. Thus, identification of the travel paths and FOLSmay be carried out on the relay device 560 in some embodiments, while inother embodiments, the identification is carried out on the farming dataexchange system 500. Both of these approaches are intended to fallwithin the scope of the claimed invention.

Message Content Extraction Process

Most modern farming implements provide an electronic control unit (ECU)that communicates with other machines via a CAN (controller areanetwork) bus in accordance with an industry standard specification,referred to as ISO 11783, or ISOBUS. ISO 11783 defines a virtualterminal (VT) as a means of providing a graphical display and inputfunctions for an operator to interact with an implement or group ofimplements. In particular, An ISOBUS compliant implement defines whatwill be displayed, how the display will look, and how the operator mayinteract by providing an object pool to the terminal. It is important tonote the ISO 11783 specification defines the graphical objects, but notwhat they represent. In this way, different types of implements canprovide an interface on any terminal that supports the standard.However, the VT interface requires visual interpretation by an operator.The graphical objects passed from the implement to the VT have nomeaning until they are assembled in a display terminal and interpretedby a human operator.

The present invention provides a system and method for creatingimplement profiles that can be used by application programs running onthe relay device or the farm data exchange system to passively extractdesired operating parameters from ISOBUS messages, as well as a systemand method for using those operating parameters, along with position andtime information provided by UPS receivers, to determine operatingevents occurring during farming operations. In general terms, aparameter extraction program, such as parameter extraction program 519in FIG. 5, monitors data on the ISO 11783 bus (ISOBUS). ECUs attached tothe ISOBUS are detected and identified from the information presented inthe ISO 11783 NAME field of the ECU's address claim message and theversion field of the Get Version messages exchanged between the virtualterminal and the ECU for the farming implement. The data in the ECU NAMEfield is used to identify the ECU as belonging to a particular implementmanufactured by a particular manufacturer. The data in the NAME field isextracted and compared with the data in a collection of implementprofiles stored on the system. These implement profiles provide amapping between desired ECU parameters and ISO 11783 Virtual Terminalobject numbers. Thus, once the parameter extraction program determinesthat there is a match between the data in the NAME field transmitted bythe current implement and the data stored in one of the stored implementprofiles, all of the object numbers that will be used by the currentimplement to communicate information to the current farming machine areknown to the system by virtue of this mapping. Accordingly, the systemcan now use the implement profile (specifically, the mapping of objectnumbers to operating parameters) to extract operating parameter valuesfrom every subsequent message transmitted by the current implement. Theoperating parameter information, along with the position and time dataprovided by the GPS receiver, can then be used by the applicationprograms to determine the set of operating events that occurred duringthe farming operation.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a virtual terminal (VT) display screen 605.In this case, the display screen 605 shows a collection of polygonalshapes and numbers representing or corresponding to the currentoperating parameters for a spraying implement 610. Each graphic elementon the display screen 605 is referred to as a VT object. A displayednumber may be an object number of interest because it is associated withan operating parameter of the ECU providing the graphic element to theVT display screen. For example, two pressure indicators 620 and 625displayed on the display screen 605 show that one of the nozzles 615 onthe sprayer 610 is currently operating at 34 PSI, while a spray volumeindicator 630 shows that nozzle 615 of sprayer 610 has dispensed a totalof 798 gallons of spray.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an implement (or ECU) profile 705 in XMLformat. As indicated by the values in the NAME field 710, thisparticular implement profile is for a “sprayer” manufactured by the“Deere” company. As shown in FIG. 7, the profile includes a host ofimportant current operating parameters, as well as the VT object numbersused by the sprayer to signal those parameters. In this case, theoperating parameters include, for each section of the sprayer, an on/offstatus, a working width and a Y-offset. The implement profile 705 alsoshows operating parameters for the “BOOM,” which are target rate,application rate, master valve on/off status, total volume applied andtotal area sprayed.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram illustrating, by way of example, the relationshipbetween the VT display screen 805, a VT object message 810, thecorresponding ECU (implement) profile data 815, and the operatingparameters 820 and 825 that are stored in the database on the farmingdata exchange system based on the values transmitted to the VT displayscreen 805 and the values in the VT message 810.

FIG. 9 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the primary stepsof an exemplary algorithm for processing message data transmitted on amessage bus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,and how the operating parameters are derived from the contents of themessage data. First, at step 905, message data carried on an ISO 11783compliant message bus is buffered into a memory storage area on therelay device or the farming data exchange system. At step 910, themessage data is filtered to remove messages that are not virtualterminal (VT) messages. Then, in step 915, the VT messages are fed intothe extraction processor, which extracts operating parameters from theVT messages based on the ECU profiles 920 stored in the memory of therelay device or farming operation exchange system. The extractionprocessor extracts the desired operational parameters from the VTmessages by mapping the VT objects within the VT messages to arecognized ECU profile for the farming implement. The operationalparameters are stored in a database 930 related to the particular ECUfor the particular implement.

FIG. 10 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the steps fordetecting and extracting operating parameters from messages inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. First, in step1005, the system determines whether an implement ECU is present. Next,in step 1010, the system identifies the current implement ECU based onthe contents of two particular types of messages in the message data(i.e., an address claim message and version message), as shown in moredetail in FIG. 11. Next, in step 1015, name and version values in thecollection of implement ECU profiles stored in memory are compared withthe name and version values in the messages in order to identify the ECUimplement profile that matches the current implement ECU. If a match isfound (step 1020) then the system can use the matching implement profileto extract operating parameters from subsequent messages. See step 1030.On the other hand, if no match is found in step 1020, (i.e., no matchingprofile exists), then a new profile can be created for the implement ECUcurrently in use (step 1025).

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram illustrating the ECU detection process inan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Typically, the stepsin FIG. 11 are carried out by a parameter extraction program, such asparameter extraction program 519 in FIG. 5, running on the farming dataexchange system. In step 1105, an ISO 11783 message is read from memory.Next, in step 1110, the message is checked to determine if it is anaddress-claim message. If the message is not an address-claim messagetype, then processing returns to step 1105 to read the next message frommemory. However, if the message is identified as an address-claimmessage in step 1110, then the DEVICE CLASS field of the NAME portion ofthe message is read (step 1115) to determine the ECU type (e.g., asprayer or a planter). If the ECU type indicates that the ECU is animplement (step 1120), then, in step 1125, the value in the NAME portionof the address-claim message is stored in memory. In steps 1130, 1135and 1140, the system reads the next message from the message bus,determines whether that message is a version message, and if so, storesthe version in memory.

FIG. 12 contains a high-level flow diagram illustrating the stepsperformed to extract operating parameters from subsequently receivedmessages after the NAME field and version values are extracted andstored for a particular implement ECU, and an implement ECU profilematching that NAME and version are identified, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Typically, the steps in FIG. 12 arealso carried out by a parameter extraction program, such as parameterextraction program 519 in FIG. 5, running on the farming data exchangesystem. As shown in FIG. 12, in step 1205, a subsequent message is readfrom the memory buffer by the parameter extraction program. In step1205, the parameter extraction program parses the message to determinewhether the message contains a VT object message. If a VT object messageis identified, then the object ID is extracted in accordance with thecommunication protocol defined by the matching implement profile, andthis extracted object ID is then compared with the object ID numbersstored in the selected matching implement ECU profile (step 1220). Ifthe answer is “yes,” then, in step 1225, the data portion of the VTobject message is stored in a database for that particular operatingparameter associated with that particular implement ECU. Next, in step1230, unless all of the messages have been read from the buffer andprocessed, the system will loop hack to step 1205 to begin reading andprocessing the next message.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating the implement ECU profilecreation process in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. First, in step 1305, a VT object pool for the implement ECUof interest is retrieved. The object pool could be assembled frommessages already stored in memory, or the object pool could be obtainedfrom the ECU manufacturer, or by some other means. In step 1310, theobject pool is uploaded to a VT simulator. For example, the VT simulatorcould be a PC program that displays the VT objects on a VT displayscreen. As an additional aid, the VT simulator could display the objectID numbers for easy identification. In steps 1315 and 1320, a humanobserver identifies the operating parameters of interest within theterminal objects displayed on the VT display screen, and adds thecorresponding VT object ID numbers to an ECU profile template. Otheridentifying features may also be added to the ECU profile template,including the type of object (number, button, text, etc.). Finally, instep 1325, the populated implement ECU template is stored in memory as acomplete implement ECU profile, ready to be matched with implement ECUsbeing used to perform farming operations.

FIG. 14 shows three flow diagrams illustrating by way of example thefirst three phases of a process for managing and processing farmingoperation data on a farming data exchange server in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the firstphase is the passive job data acquisition phase, which comprises thesteps of associating a relay device with a business account on thefarming data exchange server (step 1405), capturing vehicle, GPS andimplement data on the relay device and transmitting it to the farmingdata exchange server (step 1410) and parsing, filtering and timestamping the data before depositing it into the agricultural datarepository on the server (step 1410).

The second phase is the ECU data extraction phase, which comprisesdetermining whether the message data is VT data or task controller (TC)data (step 1420), identifying matching VT or TC ECU profiles for themessage data (steps 1425 and 1435), extracting operating parameters fromthe VT or TC data in accordance with the communication protocols definedin the selected matching VT and TC profiles stored on the farming dataexchange server (steps 1430 and 1440) and storing the extractedoperating parameters in the agriculture data repository on the server(step 1445).

In the passive field boundary generation phase, the system parses thestored operating parameters and combines this information with time andposition data to determine implement operating events occurring duringthe farming operation (step 1450), determines the surface area for theoperating events (step 1455), finds the outside and inside edges of thesurface area based on GPS coordinates to determine the travel path(s)for the farming operation (steps 1465 and 1470), and stores adescription of the travel path(s) in an electronic farming record forthe business account (step 1460).

FIG. 15 shows two more flow diagrams illustrating the final two phases,respectively, in a process for collecting and sharing farming operationdata in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 15, the passive job generation phase comprises determiningfarming operation types for all farming operations performed withinfield boundaries based on date, time and equipment used (step 1505),linking together field boundaries based on relay devices associated witha farming business to define new farming operations for each farmingbusiness (step 1510), and storing the new farming operations in linkedlists in the EFR (business entity) database (step 1515). In the farmdata sharing phase, the farming operation exchange receives a logonrequest from a customer (1520), verifies the customer's credentials andpermissions (step 1525) and receives a request from the customer for acustomized farm data report for a specified location, date range andbudget (step 1530). The system then determines the population of farmingbusinesses within the specified location and date range (step 1535),displays a preview report and prompts the customer to specify whether toaccept, expand or cancel the results (steps 1540 and 1542).

If the customer cancels the results, then the report is canceled andprocessing stops (step 1545). However, if the customer accepts theresults, the system initiates and completes a customer payment byelectronic funds transfer (EFT) prior to generating and transmitting afarming data report and providing credits to the population of farmingbusinesses who supplied data for the report (step 1565). But if thecustomer chooses to expand the results, the system is optionallyprogrammed to send opt-in requests to relevant farming businessesdisclosing payment terms for participation (step 1550), accepts opt-insuntil a specified time limit or quota is met (step 1555) and includesthe additional opt-ins in the report (step 1560). Finally, the systeminitiates and completes a customer payment by electronic funds transfer(EFT) prior to generating and transmitting a farming data report andproviding credits to the population of farming businesses whoparticipated in supplying data for the original and expanded results(step 1565).

The above-described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, but not to limit its scope. Various otherembodiments, modifications and equivalents to these preferredembodiments may occur to those skilled in the art upon reading thepresent disclosure or practicing the claimed invention. Such variations,modifications and equivalents are intended to come within the scope ofthe invention and the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A relay device for tracking farming operations for afarming business, comprising: (a) a microprocessor; (b) a bus connectorfor connecting the relay device to a message bus on a farming vehicle orfarming implement, wherein the message bus is configured to carrymessages generated by the farming vehicle or the farming implement whilethe farming vehicle and the farming implement are used to perform thefarming operation; (c) a global positioning system receiver thatreceives position and time signals from space-based satellites while thefarming operation is performed; (d) a memory storage area that stores(i) an electronic farm record for the farming business, (ii) descriptiveinformation about a farming operation land segment associated with thefarming business, and (iii) a plurality of implement profiles eachdefining, for a known farming implement, a known manufacturer code, aknown device class, a known version and a known communication protocol;and (e) an application program comprising programming instructions that,when executed by the microprocessor, will cause the microprocessor toautomatically (i) extract content from one or more messages transmittedon the message bus and use the extracted content to determine that thereis a match between the farming implement used to perform the farmingoperation and the known farming implement corresponding to one of theplurality of implement profiles; (ii) use the extracted content, theposition and time signals and the known communication protocol definedby said one of the plurality of implement profiles to determine a set ofoperating events and a travel path for the farming operation, (iii) usethe set of operating events, the travel path and the descriptiveinformation stored in the memory storage area to determine that thefarming operation occurred on the farming operation land segment, and(iv) record the farming operation and the descriptive information forthe farming operation land segment in the electronic farm record.
 2. Therelay device of claim 1, wherein the programming instructions in theapplication program cause the microprocessor to automatically determinethe match between the farming implement used to perform the farmingoperation and the known farming implement corresponding to said one ofthe plurality of implement profiles by: (a) detecting in the messages anaddress claim message sent by the farming implement, the address claimmessage including a manufacturer code and a device class for the farmingimplement; (b) detecting in the messages an object pool version messagesent by the farming implement, the object pool version message includinga version for the farming implement; (c) confirming a first matchbetween the manufacturer code and the device class in the address claimmessage with the known manufacturer code and the known device class insaid one of the plurality of implement profiles; and (d) confirming asecond match between the version in the object pool version message andthe known version in said one of the plurality of implement profiles. 3.The relay device of claim 1, wherein the programming instructions in theapplication program cause the microprocessor to automatically determinethe operating events for the farming operation by: (a) monitoringsubsequent messages transmitted over the message bus and using the knowncommunication protocol defined by said one of the plurality of implementprofiles to identify a set of operating parameters used by the farmingimplement while the farming implement is performing the farmingoperation; and (b) using the operating events and the position and timesignals to determine the set of operating events occurring while thefarming implement performs the farming operation.
 4. The relay device ofclaim 1, wherein: (a) at least one operating event in the set ofoperating events requires that the farming implement be in a deactivatedstate during at least part of the farming operation; and (b) theprogramming instructions in the application program are arranged tocause the microprocessor to determine the travel path for the farmingoperation based on said deactivated state and said position and timesignals; (c) wherein the travel path for the farming operation includesonly those areas of land where the farming vehicle and farming implementtraveled while the farming implement was not in the deactivated state,and does not include any areas of land where the farming vehicle and thefarming implement either (i) did not travel during the farmingoperation, or (ii) traveled while the farming implement was in thedeactivated state.
 5. The relay device of claim 1, wherein: (a) theimplement profile for each of the known farming implements defines aknown set of operating events for a known set of virtual terminal objectIDs; and (b) the farming vehicle and the farming implement used toperform the farming operation transmit the messages over the message bususing the known set of virtual terminal object IDs defined by said oneof the plurality of implement profiles.
 6. The relay device of claim 1,wherein: (a) the implement profile for each of the known farmingimplements defines a known set of operating parameters for a known setof virtual terminal object IDs; and (b) the farming vehicle and thefarming implement used to perform the farming operation transmit themessages over the message bus using the known set of virtual terminalobject IDs defined by said one of the plurality of implement profiles.7. The relay device of claim 1, wherein: (a) the implement profile foreach of the known farming implements defines a known set of operatingevents for a known set of task controller messages; and (b) a taskcontroller on the farming vehicle or the farming implement transmits themessages over the message bus using the known set of task controllermessages defined by said one of the plurality of implement profiles. 8.The relay device of claim 1, wherein: (a) the implement profile for eachof the known farming implements defines a known set of operatingparameters for a known set of task controller messages; and (b) a taskcontroller on the farming vehicle or the farming implement transmits themessages over the message bus using the known set of task controllermessages defined by said one of the plurality of implement profiles. 9.The relay device of claim 1, wherein the descriptive information for thefarming operation land segment comprises: (a) a latitude coordinate forthe farming operation land segment; or (b) a longitude coordinate forthe farming operation land segment; or (c) an elevation above sea-levelfor the farming operation land segment; or (d) a perimeter descriptionfor the farming operation land segment; or (e) a shape file for thefarming operation land segment; or (f) a surface area measurement forthe farming operation land segment; or (g) a length description for theperimeter of the farming operation land segment; or (h) a surface areameasurement for land enclosed by the farming operation land segment; or(i) a global positioning coordinate for the farming operation landsegment; or (j) an ownership status for the farming operation landsegment; or (k) a boundary for the farming operation land segment; or(l) a tract number for the farming operation land segment; or (m) a farmnumber for the farming operation land segment; or (n) a field number forthe farming operation land segment; or (o) a classification for thefarming operation land segment; or (p) an administrative county for thefarming operation land segment; or (q) a state office for the farmingoperation land segment; or (r) a common land unit for the farmingoperation land segment; or (s) a combination of two or more thereof. 10.The relay device of claim 1, wherein (a) the memory storage area storesan operation type for the farming operation; and (b) the programminginstructions for the application program are arranged to cause themicroprocessor to (1) use the operating events and the position and timesignals to determine that the farming operation matches the operationtype, and (2) revise the electronic farm record to associate theoperation type with the farming operation land segment.
 11. The relaydevice of claim 10, wherein the operation type comprises plowing, ortilling, or fertilizing, or planting, or spraying, or spreading orharvesting.
 12. The relay device of claim 1, further comprising: (a) adata presentation module operable with the memory storage area and themicroprocessor to prepare at least a portion of the electronic farmrecord for presentation on a display device; and (b) an input-outputsubsystem operable with the memory storage area and the microprocessorto transmit said prepared portion of the electronic farm record to thedisplay device for presentation.
 13. The relay device of claim 1,further comprising: (a) a data communications channel for communicationwith a farming data exchange system; and (b) an exchange interfacemodule operable with the memory storage area and the microprocessor totransmit at least a portion of the electronic farm record to the farmingdata exchange system via the data communications link.
 14. The relaydevice of claim 1, wherein the farming operation land segmentcorresponds with the boundaries of a common land unit.
 15. The relaydevice of claim 1, wherein the farming operation land segment does notcorrespond with the boundaries of a common land unit.
 16. The relaydevice of claim 1, wherein the farming operation land segment spans theboundaries of two or more common land units.
 17. The relay device ofclaim 1, wherein the programming instructions in the application programare further arranged to cause the microprocessor to modify theelectronic farming record to include a travel path description for thefarming operation.
 18. The relay device of claim 17, wherein the travelpath description comprises: (a) a latitude coordinate for the travelpath; or (b) a longitude coordinate for the travel path; or (c) anelevation for the travel path; or (d) a perimeter description for thetravel path; or (e) a shape file for the travel path; or (f) a surfacearea measurement for travel path; or (g) a length for a portion of thetravel path; or (h) a surface area measurement for land encompassed bythe travel path; or (i) a global positioning coordinate for the travelpath; or (j) an ownership status for the farming business associatedwith the location of the travel path; or (k) a boundary for the travelpath; or (l) a tract number for a tract of land corresponding to thelocation of the travel path; or (m) a farm number for the farmingbusiness associated with the location of the travel path; or (n) a fieldnumber for a field corresponding to the location of the travel path; or(o) a classification for the farming business associated with thelocation of the travel path; or (p) an administrative county for landcorresponding to the location of the travel path; or (q) a state officefor land corresponding to the location of the travel path; or (r) acommon land unit for land corresponding to the travel path; or (s) acombination of two or more thereof.
 19. The relay device of claim 1,wherein: (a) at least one operating event in said set of operatingevents indicates that a row unit on the farming implement is in adeactivated state during at least part of the farming operation; and (b)the programming instructions for the application program are configuredto cause the microprocessor to (i) determine the travel path for thefarming operation based on the deactivated state and the position andtime signals; (c) wherein the travel path (i) includes those areas ofland covered by the farming vehicle and farming implement while said rowunit was not in the deactivated state, and (ii) does not include anyother areas of land where the farming vehicle and farming implementeither (A) did not travel during the performance of the farmingoperation, or (B) traveled while said row unit corresponding to saidother areas of land was in the deactivated state.